Set top box messaging system

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a video terminal device having a processor adapted to submit a query to a mobile device to determine whether to redirect one or more mobile messages destined for the mobile device to the video terminal device, receive from the mobile device an affirmative response to the query, transmit a request to a wireless carrier system to redirect transmission of the one or more mobile messages to the video terminal device, receive from the wireless carrier system the one or more mobile messages while the mobile device remains communicatively coupled to the video terminal device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/956,450 filed Nov. 30, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/801,081 filed May 7, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No.7,865,558 issued Jan. 4, 2011, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to digital video broadcastingsystems. More particularly, example embodiments are directed to system,method and machine readable medium for set top box (STB) messaging.

BACKGROUND

Recent developments in digital technology have spurred the developmentand deployment of digital video broadcasting services. The digital videobroadcasting services, including high quality video programming suchhigh definition (HD) programs, are typically provided by satellitebroadcasters, terrestrial broadcasters and cable broadcasters. Morerecently, digital broadcast programs have also been deployed via theInternet Protocol (IP) by major telecommunication providers.

Video broadcasters have traditionally distributed video broadcasts toviewers using a variety of broadcasting standards, including the analogNational Television Standard Committee (NTSC) standard. More recently,with the constant expansion of the number of video broadcast channels,HD video broadcasts and provision of data, all of which have placed apremium on bandwidth for transmission, the distribution of videobroadcasts has been achieved via digital standards, including theAdvanced Technical Systems Committee (ATSC) standard. Other digitalstandards that are being user today include the Moving Picture ExpertsGroup H.262 (MPEG-2) standard, the H.264 (MPEG-4) standard and theDigital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard.

Digital video broadcasts are transmitted or distributed from theaforementioned video broadcasters via a variety of video distributionssystems to an end user's digital set top box (STB) which decodes thedigital video signal for display on a video display device (e.g.,television). The digital video signal may be received by the STB via asatellite dish, a coaxial cable, a telephone line (including digitalsubscriber line (DSL), Ethernet, local and wide area wirelesstechnologies, and the like).

Many current mobile devices, such as cellular phones, provide theability to send and receive messages (e.g., mobile messaging), includingshort message service (SMS) messages, concatenated SMS (CSMS) messages,enhanced messaging service (EMS) messages, email messages, and the like.Operators of the aforementioned video distribution systems havecontinuously grappled with integration of different services via thevideo distribution systems to improve users' experience and thereforeretain users. However, the operators have not been able to integratemobile messaging into the video distribution systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of an example video broadcastingsystem that integrates mobile messaging into the video broadcastingsystem;

FIG. 2 is a high-level diagram depicting an example network formedbetween a mobile device and a set top box (STB);

FIG. 3 is flowchart that illustrates an example method performed by STBto set up a connection between the STB and mobile device and todetermine a message handling option in accordance with FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 4 is flowchart that illustrates an example method for theredirection of messages destined for the mobile device to the STB, inaccordance with FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is flowchart that illustrates an example method for thesynchronization of messages between the mobile device and the STB, inaccordance with FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in an example formof a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine to perform anyone or more of the methodologies described hereinin FIGS. 1-5, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example system, method and machine readable medium for set top box(STB) messaging are described.

One illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure describes a videoterminal device having a processor adapted to submit a query to a mobiledevice to determine whether to redirect one or more mobile messagesdestined for the mobile device to the video terminal device, receivefrom the mobile device an affirmative response to the query, transmit arequest to a wireless carrier system to redirect transmission of the oneor more mobile messages to the video terminal device, receive from thewireless carrier system the one or more mobile messages while the mobiledevice remains communicatively coupled to the video terminal device.

One illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure describes a systemhaving a message handler module adapted to submit a query to a mobiledevice to determine whether to redirect one or more mobile messagesdestined for the mobile device to the system, a message redirect moduleadapted to receive from the mobile device an affirmative response to thequery, and to transmit a request to a wireless carrier system toredirect the one or more mobile messages to the system, and a detectionmodule to detect whether the mobile device is communicatively coupled tothe system, wherein the message redirect module transmits a cancelrequest to the wireless carrier system to cancel redirection of the oneor more mobile messages upon detecting that the mobile device is nolonger communicatively coupled to the system.

One illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure describes atangible machine-readable medium having instructions executable by themachine for video terminal device messaging, the instructions causingthe machine to transmit a first request to a wireless carrier system toredirect one or more mobile messages destined for a mobile device to avideo terminal device, receive the one or more mobile messages at thevideo terminal device while the video terminal device is communicativelycoupled to the mobile device, and transmit a second request to thewireless carrier system to cancel redirection of the one or more mobilemessages to the video terminal device responsive to detecting that thevideo terminal device is no longer communicatively coupled to the mobiledevice.

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of an example video broadcastingsystem 100 that integrates mobile messaging into the video broadcastingsystem 100. The video broadcasting system 100 includes a wirelesscarrier system 102, a central video head end (CHE) 116, a regional videohead end (RHE) 130, and a set top box (STB) 148 (e.g., video terminaldevice). The wireless carrier system 102 is communicativelyinterconnected to the CHE via network 114. The CHE 116 is in turncommunicatively interconnected to a regional video head end (RHE) 130via network 126. Still in turn, the RHE 130 is communicativelyinterconnected to an end user's set top box (STB) 148 via network 146.It is noted that for clarity and simplicity of the depiction one CHE116, one RHE 130 and one STB 148 are described. However, the videobroadcasting system 100 may include multiple CHEs 116; each CHE 116 maybe interconnected to multiple RHEs 130; and each RHE 130 may beinterconnected to multiple STB units 148 as may be desired. The network114 interconnecting the wireless carrier system 102 and the CHE 116 maybe any conventional transfer control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP)network. The network 126 interconnecting the CHE 116 and the RHE 130 maybe a long haul transport network (e.g., gigabit Ethernet network,Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, frame relay network) and thelike. The network 146 interconnecting the RHE 130 and the STB 148 may bea network such as fiber to the home (FITH), fiber to the node (FTTN),public switched telephone network (PSTN) (including digital subscriberline (DSL>>, coaxial cable, hybrid fiber/coaxial, and combinationsthereof. Alternate networks and combinations thereof may also beemployed to interconnect the wireless carrier system 102 to the CHE 116,CHE 116 to the RHE 130 and the RHE 130 to the STB 148.

Further with reference to the wireless carrier system 102 of FIG. 1, thewireless carrier system 102 includes a mobile device messaging centermodule (center module) 104, a mobile device locator module (locatormodule) 106, a mobile device message delivery module (delivery module)108, a redirect database 110 and a messaging gateway module (gatewaymodule) 112. Generally, the wireless carrier system 102 provides theability to send and receive messages (e.g., mobile messaging), includingshort message service (SMS) messages, concatenated SMS (SMS) messages,enhanced messaging service (EMS) messages, email messages, and the like,to and from one or more devices 128. For clarity and brevity only onedevice 128 is illustrated. The device 128 may transmit a messagedestined for a destination mobile device (e.g., illustrated as mobiledevice 210 in FIG. 2) to the central module 104 of wireless carriersystem 102, and may likewise receive a response message from thedestination mobile device via the wireless carrier system 102. Thedevice 128 may be any device that can generate a message, such as amessaging-enabled mobile device, and the message may be routed to thecentral module 104 by plural system components (not shown). Uponreceiving the message from device 128 destined for a destination mobiledevice (e.g., mobile device 210 in FIG. 2), the central module 104 mayquery a redirect database 110 to determine whether there is aredirection entry for the destination mobile device, as to whether ornot any messages destined for the mobile device are to be redirected toanother device, such as the STB 148 in vicinity of which the destinationmobile device may be located, as will be described hereinafter inreference to FIGS. 2-4 below.

Still further with reference to the wireless carrier system 102 of FIG.1, if the center module 104 determines that there is no redirectionentry for the destination mobile device, the center module 104 requeststhe locator module 106 to determine a location of the destination mobiledevice. Upon determining the location of the destination mobile devicevia locator module 106, the center module 104 transmits the message fromdevice 128 to the delivery module 108 for delivery of the message to thelocated destination mobile device. However, if the center module 104determines that there is a redirection entry in the redirect database110 for the destination mobile device, the center module 104 retrievesfrom the redirect entry redirection information (e.g., address of devicein messaging system 100) for a destination device to which the messageis to be redirected (e.g., STB 148). The redirection informationidentifies, for example, the STB 148 in the video broadcasting system100 as a destination for the redirection of messages destined for thedestination mobile device. For example, an internet protocol (IP)address, a media access control (MAC) address, or the like, may beprovided in the redirection information to identify the STB 148 withinthe broadcasting system 100 for the redirection of messages. Thus, thecenter module 104 transmits the received message coupled withredirection information (e.g., address for STB 148 in system 100) to thegateway module 112 for ultimate delivery of the received message to theSTB 148, as will be described herein below in reference to FIG. I. It isnoted that the messaging gateway module 112 may translate the messagesto and from a protocol used by the center module 104.

Further with reference to mobile messaging of video broadcasting system100 of FIG. 1, the messaging gateway module 112 of wireless carriersystem 102 communicatively interconnects the wireless carrier system 102to the central video head (CHE) 116 via a network 114. Morespecifically, the messaging getaway module 112 routes the receivedmessage from device 128 (and any other messages from device 128 destinedfor STB 148) from the center module 104 to messaging gateway module 124of the CHE 116. In turn, the messaging gateway module 124 of the CHE 116routes the received message (and any other messages from device 128destined for STB 148) to a messaging gateway 144 of regional video headend (RHE) 130. Thereafter, in turn the messaging gateway module 144 ofthe RHE 130 routes the received message (and any other messages fromdevice 128 destined for STB 148) to the network communication module 154of the STB 148.

Now with particular reference to the video distribution of central videohead end (CHE) 116 of FIG. 1, the CHE 116 includes a central videoreception module 120 that receives video programming of video broadcastsfrom multiple video sources, including off-air antenna 117, satellitereceiver 118, as well as any other video sources 119, which may includefiber feed sources, video servers and tape machines, which serve videoprogramming. The video programming received by the video receptionmodule 120 may be in a variety of formats, including NTSC, ATSC, MPEG-2,MPEG-4, DVB, Windows Media, baseband digital, and other availableformats. The CHE 116 further includes a video distribution module 122that cooperates with the video reception module 120 to distribute thevideo programming received by the video reception module 120 to a videobroadcast/switch module 138 of a regional video head end (RHE) 130(described in further detail herein below). More specifically, the videoreception module 120 may decode (via one or more video decoders) thevideo programming received in the aforementioned different formats intoa standardized format. In turn, the video distribution module 122 mayfurther encode (via one or more video encoders) the video programmingprovided in the standardized format by the video reception module 120into a digital format for ultimate distribution to the STB 148 (e.g.,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 and the like). The video distribution module 122 mayfurther multiplex (e.g., via statistical multiplexing) video broadcastsof multiple digital video broadcast channels over one carrier frequencyallocation (e.g., 6 MHz or 8 MHz), which is a typical carrier frequencyallocation that may be used for one analog channel.

Now with particular reference to the mobile messaging of the regionalvideo head end (RHE) 130, the messaging gateway module 144 of RHE 130may receive a message (or messages) from the messaging gateway 124 ofCHE 116 and may route the message to the appropriate destination STB(e.g., STB 148). More specifically, the RHE 130 may be communicativelyinterconnected to (e.g., may serve) plural STBs. The messaging gatewaymodule 144 is further communicatively connected to a device driverserver 142 that is coupled to a driver database 140 that stores aplurality of synchronization drivers (synch drivers) for differentmobile devices. More specifically, upon request of the destination STB(e.g., STB 148), the device driver server 142 may query the driverdatabase 140 to retrieve a synch driver for a particular mobile device(e.g., particular device type and manufacturer) and may further transmitthe retrieved synch driver to the destination STB (e.g., STB 148) forinstallation in the mobile device to facilitate synchronization ofmessages between the STB 148 and the mobile device, as will be describedhereinafter with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5.

Now with particular reference to video distribution of the regionalvideo head end (RHE) 130, the RHE 130 includes a regional videoreception module 134 that receives local video programming or broadcastsfrom multiple video sources, including off-air antenna 131, satellitereceiver 132 and other video sources 133. The local video programmingreceived by the regional video reception module 134 may be in a varietyof formats, including NTSC, ATSC, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DVB, Windows Media,baseband digital, and other available formats. The other video sources133 may include fiber feed sources, video servers and tape machines,which serve video programming In addition, the other video sources 133may also include video programming received via telecom transportnetworks directly from a broadcaster in any of the foregoing formats.The RHE 130 further includes a video distribution module 136 thatcooperates with the regional video reception module 134 to distributethe local video programming received by the video reception module 134to an end-user's STB 148 Similarly to the central video reception module120 of the CHE 116, the regional video reception module 134 of the RHE130 may decode (via video decoders) the local video programming receivedin the aforementioned different formats into a standardized format. Inturn, the video distribution module 136 may further encode (via videoencoders) the video programming provided in the standardized format bythe regional video reception module 134 into a digital format forultimate distribution to the STB 148 (e.g., MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and thelike). The video distribution module 136 may further multiplex (e.g.,via statistical multiplexing) video broadcasts of multiple digital videobroadcast channels over one carrier frequency allocation (e.g., 6 MHz or8 MHz). Still further, the video programming from the video distributionmodule 122 of the CHE 116 and the video programming from the videodistribution module 136 of the RHE 128 are distributed to the videobroadcast/switch module 138, which broadcasts or switches channels ofthe video programming from the CHE 116 and the RHE 130 to a videoreceiver module 188 of the end-user's STB 148 (described hereinafter ingreater detail).

Now with particular reference video distribution of STB 148, the STB 148includes a video receiver module 188, a tuning module 190 and a displaymodule 192. The video receiver module 188 receives video programmingfrom the video broadcast/switch module 138 of the RHE 130. Upon channelselection by a user via a remote control 194, the tuning module 190 mayselect a particular channel from the video programming received by thevideo receiver module 188 (if multiple channels including the channelselected are being received) for display by the display module 192 onthe display device 196. Alternatively, upon channel selection by theuser via the remote control 194, the tuning module 190 may request thevideo receiver 188 to request the video broadcast/switch module 138 toswitch the video programming to the requested channel (if anon-requested channel is being received) for display by the displaymodule 192 on the display device 196.

Further with particular reference to a mobile messaging of the STB 148,the STB 148 includes an STB messaging system 150 that facilitates aredirection of mobile messages to or a synchronization of mobilemessages with the STB 148. More specifically, in one aspect, the STBmessaging system 150 facilitates mobile messages destined for a mobiledevice to be redirected from the wireless carrier system 102 and to bereceived at the STB 148 for display to a user. In another aspect, theSTB messaging system 150 facilitates mobile messages received by amobile device from the wireless carrier system 102 to synchronized withthe STB 148 for display to a user. The STB messaging system 150 includea communication subsystem 152, a mobile device connection system 158, amessage transmission subsystem 166, and a message transmit/receivesubsystem 178, as will described in greater detail below.

Now with reference to the communication subsystem 152 of STB messagingsystem 150 of FIG. 1, the communication subsystem 152 includes a networkcommunication module 154 that is enabled to communicate with themessaging gateway module 144 of the RHE 130 via network 146, as well asa device communication module 156 that is enabled to wirelesslycommunicate with a mobile device that is within the vicinity (e.g.,operational range) of the STB 148 via one or more protocols, such asBluetooth, 802.11 (Wi-Fi), infrared, and the like.

Further with reference to the mobile device connection subsystem 158,the mobile device connection subsystem 158 includes a detection module160 that detects whether a mobile device is within an operational range(FIG. 2) of the STB 148 to facilitate message redirection orsynchronization as will be described herein. The operational range maybe determined based on signal-to-noise (SNE) ratio or any otherconventional mechanism. If detection module determines that the mobiledevice is within range of the STB 148, the identification module 162identifies the mobile device, such as by querying the mobile device'selectronic serial no. (ESN), telephone number, device type and/ormanufacturer, wireless carrier system to which the device is registered,as well as any other identifying information to connect the STB 148 tothe mobile device (e.g., mobile device 210 of FIG. 2). Afteridentification, the connection module 164 connects the STB 148 to themobile device via device communication module 156. A session between theSTB 148 and the mobile device (e.g., mobile device 210 of FIG. 2) may bemaintained by the connection module 164 for the duration of theconnection. The alert module 165 generates an audiovisual alerts toalert a user that connection has been established and message handlingwill be required, as will be described herein below.

Now with reference to the message transmission subsystem 166, themessage transmission subsystem 166 includes a message handler module 169that queries a user relating to message handling, such as whether toredirect or synchronize mobile messages. Upon selection of a messagehandling option, the message handler module 169 invokes a messageredirect module 168 that facilitates redirection of messages to the STB148, or a message synchronization module 170 that facilitates messagesynchronization between a mobile device and STB 148. The messagetransmission subsystem 166 further includes a device driverdetermination module 172 that determines whether a mobile deviceincludes a message synch driver (e.g., firmware, software) that enablesmessage synchronization between a mobile device and STB 148. If devicedriver determination module 172 determines that a mobile device does notinclude a message synch driver, the device driver retrieval module 174requests the driver for the particular mobile device (based on theidentification of the mobile device) from the device driver server 142,which queries synch driver database 140 as described herein. It is notedthat the device driver server 142 and/or synch driver database 140 maybe disposed anywhere in video broadcasting system 100 (e.g., at the CHE116, the wireless carrier system 102, or any other node not enumeratedin video broadcasting system 100). Upon retrieval of the synch driver,the device diver transmission module 176 transmits the synch driver tothe mobile device via device communication module 156. The mobile devicemay thereafter automatically install the synch driver, or the mobiledevice may query a user thereof as to whether or not to install thesynch driver.

With reference to the message transmit/receive subsystem 178, themessage transmit/receive subsystem 178 includes a message receipt module186 that facilitates receipt of messages from the wireless carriersystem 102 (redirection) and/or the mobile device (synchronization) fordisplay on the display device 196 via display module 192. The messagetransmit/receive subsystem 178 also includes a message transmissionmodule 180 that facilitates the transmission of messages from the STB148 to the center module 104 of the wireless carrier system 102, inredirect and/or synchronize modes as described herein below. The messagetransmission module 180 may receive messages to be transmitted from theSTB 148 to the wireless carrier system 102 via network communicationmodule 154 from the mobile device message module 182 or the STB messagemodule 184. More specifically, the mobile device messaging module 182may receive messages for transmission from the mobile device, while theSTB message module 184 may received the message for transmission via theSTB 148, such as for example via an attached keyboard, via an STBvirtual keyboard or remote control 194.

FIG. 2 is a high-level diagram depicting an example network 200 formedbetween a mobile device 210 and a set top box (STB) 148. The mobiledevice 210 may connect to the STB 148 (e.g., video terminal device) viaany known protocol, such as 802.11 (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, infrared and thelike, to form a wireless network connection. It is noted that the mobiledevice 210 is enabled for mobile messaging, e.g., sending and receivingmobile messages as described hereinabove. Upon, the mobile device 210coming into operational range 202 of the STB 148, the STB 148 maydetect, identify and connect to the mobile device 210 via the devicecommunication module 156 and mobile device connection subsystem 158(FIG. 1) to form a network connection. Upon a successfully establishingthe network connection, the STB 148 may inform the user via alert module165 and audiovisual alert display 204 that a connection has beenestablished and input is required from the user (e.g., via displaydevice 196) and may further query the user via message handler module169 presenting user interface (UI) 208 on display device 196 whethermessages destined for the mobile device 210 are to be redirected to theSTB 148 or synchronized with the STB 148. It is noted, that in a certainembodiment, the redirection or synchronization maybe preset in the STB148 (not shown) and automatically determined at the time the networkconnection between the STB 148 and the mobile device 210 is established.The user may use a console 206 on the STB 148 or remote control 194 toselect an appropriate message handling option (e.g., redirect orsynchronize) or to cancel in response to the query presented via the UI208. Once the user selects the message handling option, the STB 128either redirects or synchronizes messages via the message transmissionmodule 166 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 3 is flowchart that illustrates an example method 300 performed bySTB 148 to set up a connection between the STB 148 and mobile device 210and to determine a message handling option in accordance with FIGS. 1-2.More specifically, the method begins at operation 302 in which amessaging-enabled mobile device 210 comes into an operational range 202of the STB 148 (FIG. 2). At operation 304, the detection module 160 ofthe mobile device subsystem 158 of the STB 148 (FIG. 1) detects themobile device 210 as being in the operation range 202. At operation 306,the identification module 162 of the mobile device subsystem 158 of theSTB 148 (FIG. 1) identifies the mobile device. Identification of themobile device may include identifying the mobile device 210 ESN,telephone number, device type and/or manufacturer, wireless carriersystem to which the device is registered, as well as any otheridentifying information necessary for STB 148 to connect to the mobiledevice 210 as well as to redirect/synchronize messages as describedherein. At operation 308, the connection module 164 of the mobile devicesubsystem 158 of the STB 148 (FIG. 1) transmits a connection request tothe mobile device requesting to form a wireless network connection inaccordance with one of the foregoing protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,infrared, and the like). Thereafter, at operation 310 the connectionmodule 164 determines whether connection information for a connection isreceived from the mobile device 210, and if so, at operation 312 theconnection module 164 uses the received connection information toconnect the STB 148 via device communication module 156 with the mobiledevice 210, forming a wireless connection network. If no connectioninformation is received at operation 310, the method 300 terminates atoperation 324

Further with reference to FIG. 3, at operation 314 the STB 148 via alertmodule 165 and audiovisual display 204 may present the user with anaudiovisual alert that a connection has been established and input isrequired from the user for message handling options. At operation 316,message transmission subsystem 166 via message handler module 169 mayfurther display user interface (UI) 208 on display device 196, queryingthe user as to message handling options, e.g., whether messages destinedfor the mobile device 210 are to be redirected to the STB 148 orsynchronized with the STB 148. At operation 318, the message handlermodule 169 determines the user's message handling selection (e.g.,redirect, synchronize or cancel). As noted above with reference to FIG.2, the selection may be preset via message handler module 169 andautomatically selected. If it is determined that redirection isselected, the method 300 continues at operation 320 to redirect messagesdestined for the mobile device 210 to the STB 148. If, however, it isdetermined that synchronization is selected at operation 318, the method300 continues at operation 322 to synchronize messages received at themobile device 210 with the STB 148. Redirection of operation 320 isillustrated in greater detail in flowchart of FIG. 4 and synchronizationof operation 322 is illustrated in greater detail in flowchart of FIG.5. The example method 300 ends at operation 324.

FIG. 4 is flowchart that illustrates an example method 400 for theredirection of messages destined for mobile device 210 to the STB 148,in accordance with FIGS. 1-3. The example method 400 starts at operation402 and describes in greater detail operation 320 of FIG. 3. It is notedthat at this point the STB 148 has detected and identified mobile device210, a network connection has been formed between the STB 148 and themobile device 210. At operation 404, the STB 148 transmits a request towireless carrier system 102 (identified during mobile device 210identification) to redirect messages destined for the mobile device 210to the STB 148. The redirect request may include specific informationidentifying the mobile device within the wireless carrier system 102(e.g., electronic serial no. (ESN), telephone no., wireless carriersystem (e.g., identifier) to which the device is registered and thelike) and specific address information identifying the STB 148 to whichthe messages destined for the mobile device 210 should be redirected.More specifically, the message redirect module 168 of the STB 148transmits the described redirect request to the center module 104 of thewireless carrier system 102. In response to the redirect request, thecenter module 104 may generate a redirect record (not shown) in theredirect database 110 for the mobile device 210, including informationidentifying the mobile device 210 and information identifying the STB148. Upon receiving any messages for the mobile device 210, the centermodule 104 may query the redirect database 110, and if a redirect entryexists for the mobile device, the center module 104 may redirect themessages to the STB 148 via the specific address information in theredirect entry identifying the STB 148.

Now with reference to operation 406 of FIG. 4, the detection module 160of the STB 148 determines whether the mobile device 210 is detectedwithin the operational range 202 of the STB 148. As describedhereinabove, the operational range may be determined based on signal tonoise ratio (SNR) or any other conventional mechanism. If the mobiledevice 210 is detected within operational range 202 at operation 406,the method 400 continues at operation 408 where the message receiptmodule 186 of the STB 148 determines whether a message is received fromthe wireless carrier system 102 (e.g., from device 128) for the mobiledevice 210 and if no message is received the method continues detectionat operation 406. If however, the mobile device 210 is not detectedwithin operational range 202 at operation 406, the method continues atoperation 414 where the message redirect module 168 transmits a requestto the wireless carrier system 102 to cancel redirection of messagesdestined for the mobile device 210 to the STB 148. It is however notedthat the detection of the mobile device 210 may occur for apredetermined amount of time of may be retried multiple times before themethod continues at operation 414, so as to avoid temporary interruptionof communication between STB 148 and mobile device 210. Aftercancellation of redirection, the method 400 ends at operation 422.

Further with reference to FIG. 4, if at operation 408 it is determinedthat a redirected message is received at the STB 148 from center module104 of wireless carrier system 102 (e.g., from device 128 of FIG. 1),the message is displayed at operation 410. At operation 412, it isdetermined (via STB message module 182) whether a response to thereceived and displayed message is being generated. If no response isgenerated, the method 400 ends at operation 422. Alternatively, if aresponse message is being generated, the response message is received bythe STB message module 184 at operation 416. The response message may bereceived by the STB message module 184 via the remote control 194, avirtual keyboard displayed on the display device 196 and operated byremote control 194, or a keyboard (not shown) attached to the STB 148.At operation 418, the message transmission module 180 of the STB 148determines whether the response message should be transmitted to device128. This determination may be accomplished by determining whether auser depresses a “transmit” button (not shown) on the remote control194, virtual keyboard (not shown) or attached keyboard (not shown)designated to transmit the response message to the device 128. Uponmessage transmission module 180 determining that the response messageshould be transmitted to device 128, the message transmission module 160transmits the response message via network communication module 154 tothe center module 104 of wireless carrier system 102. It is noted thatthe center module 104 may determine whether the response message todevice 128 should also be redirected by querying redirect database 110,in a situation in which the device 128 has instructed a STB to redirectmessages destined for the device 128 to the STB. Alternatively, thecenter module 104 may locate device 128 via locator module 106 anddeliver the response message via delivery module 108 to device 128.

FIG. 5 is flowchart that illustrates an example method 500 for thesynchronization of messages between mobile device 210 to the STB 148, inaccordance with FIGS. 1-3. The example method 400 starts at operation502 and describes in greater detail operation 322 of FIG. 3. It is notedthat at this point the STB 148 has detected and identified mobile device210, and a network connection has been formed between the STB 148 andthe network device 210. At operation 504, the device driverdetermination module 172 queries the mobile device 210 as to whether themobile device 210 includes a current message synch driver forsynchronizing messages between the mobile device 210 and the STB 148.The device driver determination module 172 receives a response to thequery from mobile device 210 and at operation 506 determines whether theresponse indicates that the mobile device includes a current synchdriver. If mobile device 210 includes the current synch driver, method500 continues at operation 516 as described below. If mobile device 210does not include the current synch driver, the method 500 continues atoperation 508 where the device driver determination module 172 queriesthe mobile device whether to install the current synch driver. If theresponse received from the mobile device 210 indicates that currentsynch driver is not to be installed, the method 500 ends at operation532.

Alternatively with reference to operation 510 of FIG. 5, if it isdetermined that current synch driver is to be installed, the method 500continues at operation 512, where the device driver retrieval module 174retrieves the message synch driver for mobile device 210 from remotedevice driver server 142 of RHE 130. Device driver server 142 may querydriver database 140 to retrieve the synch driver for the particularmobile device 210. At operation 514, the device driver transmissionmodule 176 transmits the synch driver from STB 148 mobile device 210.The synch driver may be installed automatically or by the user of mobiledevice 210. At operation 516, message synchronization module 170synchronizes the STB with the mobile device 210 via synch driverinstalled in the mobile device 210 into an idle mode, waiting for asynch message trigger. The synch message trigger may be the userselecting to synchronize the STB 148 with mobile device 210 via UI 208,or automatic synchronization such as the message synchronization module170 determining that the user has changed channels via tuning module190, for example. At operation 518, a message synchronization module 170determines whether a synch message trigger has occurred. If no synchmessage trigger is determined to have occurred, then the methodcontinues at operation 520 in which the detection module 160 determineswhether the mobile device 210 is within an operational range 202 of theSTB 148 to facilitate message synchronization. If mobile device 210 isdetected within operational range 202, the method 500 continued in idlemode at operation 516. Alternatively, if mobile device is not detectedwithin operational range 202, the method ends at operation 534. It ishowever noted that the detection of the mobile device 210 may occur fora predetermined amount of time or may be retried multiple times beforethe method continues at operation 534, so as to avoid temporaryinterruption of synchronization between STB 148 and mobile device 210.

Further with reference to operation 518 of FIG. 5, if synch messagetrigger is determined to have occurred, the method 500 continues atoperation 522 where the message synchronize module 170 transmits tomobile device 210 a message synchronization request. At operation 524,the message receipt module 186 of the STB 148 receives from the mobiledevice 210 a message received by the mobile device via wireless carriersystem 102 from device 128. The message receipt module 186 displays thereceived message via display module 192 on the display device 196 to theuser. At operation 528, a response message is received by the mobiledevice message module 182 via mobile device 210, or the STB messagemodule 184 via the remote control 194, a virtual keyboard displayed onthe display device 196 and operated by remote control 194, or a keyboard(not shown) attached to the STB 148. At operation 530, the messagetransmission module 180 of the STB 148 determines whether the responsemessage should be transmitted to device 128. This determination may beaccomplished by determining whether a user depresses a “transmit” buttonon the mobile device 210, the remote control 194, virtual keyboard (notshown) or attached keyboard (not shown) designated to transmit theresponse message to the device 128. Upon message transmission module 180determining that the response message should be transmitted to device128 at operation 530, the method continues at operation 532 where themessage transmission module 180 transmits the response message to themobile device 210 via message synchronization module 170 and/or to thecenter module 104 of wireless carrier system 102 for delivery to thedevice 128. In an embodiment, the response message may be delivered bythe STB 148 to the wireless carrier system 102, and synchronized to themobile device 210. In an alternate embodiment, the STB 148 maysynchronize the response message to the mobile device 210, which thendelivers the response message to the wireless carrier system 102 via itown wireless connection thereto. The method thereafter ends at operation534.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of machine in an example form ofa computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed hereinin FIGS. 1-5, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machineoperates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate inthe capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may be a server computer, a clientcomputer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance,a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executinga set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

Further with reference to FIG. 6, the example computer system 600includes a processor 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), agraphics processing unit (GPU) or both), a main memory 604 and a staticmemory 606, which communicate with each other via a bus 620. Thecomputer system 600 may further include a video display unit 610 (e.g.,a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT>>. Thecomputer system 600 also includes an alphanumeric input device 612(e.g., a keyboard), a user interface (UI) navigation device 614 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 508.

Still further with reference to FIG. 6, the disk drive unit 616 includesa machine-readable medium 622 on which is stored one or more sets ofinstructions and data structures (e.g., software 624) embodying orutilized by anyone or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. The software 624 may also reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 604 and/or within the processor 602during execution thereof by the computer system 600, the main memory 604and the processor 602 also constituting machine-readable media. Thesoftware 624 may further be transmitted or received over a network 626via the network interface device 608 utilizing anyone of a number ofwell-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP).

Lastly with reference to FIG. 6, while the machine-readable medium 622is shown in the example embodiment to be a single medium, the term“machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying aset of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause themachine to perform anyone or more of the methodologies of an exampleembodiment, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying datastructures utilized by or associated with such a set of instructions.The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical andmagnetic media, and carrier wave signals.

Certain systems, apparatus, applications or processes are describedherein as including a number of modules or mechanisms. A module or amechanism may be a unit of distinct functionality that can provideinformation to, and receive information from, other modules.Accordingly, the described modules may be regarded as beingcommunicatively coupled. Modules may also initiate communication withinput or output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., acollection of information). The modules be implemented as hardwarecircuitry, optical components, single or multi-processor circuits,memory circuits, software program modules and objects, firmware, andcombinations thereof, as appropriate for particular implementations ofvarious embodiments.

Thus, an example system, method and machine readable medium for set topbox (STB) messaging have been described. Although specific exampleembodiments have been described, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawingsthat form a part hereof, show by way of illustration, and not oflimitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may bepracticed. The embodiments illustrated are described in sufficientdetail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachingsdisclosed herein. Other embodiments may be utilized and derivedtherefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. ThisDetailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense,and the scope of various embodiments is defined only by the appendedclaims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claimsare entitled.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and willallow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of thetechnical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that itwill not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims.

In the foregoing description of the embodiments, various features aregrouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting that the claimed embodiments have more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Description of the Embodiments, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate example embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication device, comprising: acommunications interface; a memory to store instructions; and aprocessor coupled to the memory and the communications interface,wherein execution if the instruction causes the processor to performoperations comprising: initiating communication with a video terminaldevice; wherein responsive to initiating communication with the videoterminal device, the video terminal performs operation comprising:presenting a query with an option to redirect one or more mobilemessages destined for the mobile communication device to the videoterminal device; receiving an affirmative response to the query; andtransmitting a redirection request to cause a wireless carrier system toredirect transmission of the mobile messages to the video terminaldevice while the mobile communication device remains communicativelycoupled to the video terminal device; detecting that the mobilecommunication device is no longer communicatively coupled to the videoterminal device; and transmitting a cancel request to cause the wirelesscarrier system to cancel redirection of the one or more mobile messagesto the video terminal device.
 2. The mobile communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the video terminal device is a set top box, and whereinthe video terminal device is configured to display the mobile messageson a display device coupled to the video terminal device.
 3. The mobilecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the video terminal devicefurther performs operation comprising: obtaining a response message toone mobile message of the mobile messages; and transmitting the responsemessage to a device that initiated the one mobile message.
 4. The mobilecommunication device of claim 1, wherein initiating communication withthe video terminal comprises initiating a wireless network connectionwith the video terminal device to enable the video terminal device toconfirm that the mobile communication device remains communicativelycoupled to the video terminal device while the one or more mobilemessages are redirected to the video terminal device.
 5. The mobilecommunication device of claim 4, wherein the processor further performsoperation comprising: transmitting to the video terminal deviceidentification information relating to the mobile communication deviceand the wireless carrier system to which the mobile communication deviceis registered.
 6. The mobile communication device of claim 4, whereinthe processor further performs operations comprising receiving asynchronization request from the video terminal device to synchronizethe video terminal device with the mobile messages previously receivedby the mobile communication device.
 7. The mobile communication deviceof claim 6, wherein the processor further performs operation comprisingtransmitting to the video device terminal the mobile messages previouslyreceived by the mobile communication device.
 8. A method, comprising:receiving a query with an option to redirect one or more mobile messagesdestined for a mobile communication device to a video terminal device;transmitting an affirmative response to the query to cause a wirelesscarrier system to redirect transmission of the one or more mobilemessages destined for the mobile communication device to the videoterminal device; wherein the wireless carrier system redirects the oneor more mobile messages to the video terminal device while the mobilecommunication device remains communicatively coupled to the videoterminal device; and detecting that the mobile communication device isno longer communicatively coupled to the video terminal device; andtransmitting a cancel request to cause the wireless carrier system tocancel redirection of the one or more mobile messages to the videoterminal device.
 9. The method of claim 8, comprising: transmitting tothe video terminal device identification information relating to themobile communication device and the wireless carrier system to which themobile communication device is registered; receiving a connectionrequest from the video terminal device; and connecting to the videoterminal device over a wireless network connection.
 10. The method ofclaim 8, comprising: receiving from the video terminal device asynchronization request; and transmitting synchronization information tothe video device terminal.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the videoterminal device is a set top box.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe video terminal device displays the mobile messages on a displaydevice coupled to the video terminal device.
 13. The method of claim 8,comprising: obtaining a response message to one mobile message of themobile messages; and transmitting the response message to a device thatinitiated the one mobile message.
 14. A non-transitory machine-readablemedium comprising instructions executable by a machine, the instructionscausing the machine to perform operations comprising: receiving arequest to redirect mobile messages destined for a mobile communicationdevice to a video terminal device; transmitting a response to cause awireless carrier system to redirect transmission of the mobile messagesdestined for the mobile communication device to the video terminaldevice; wherein the wireless carrier system redirects the one or moremobile messages to the video terminal device so long as the mobilecommunication device remains communicatively coupled to the videoterminal device; detecting that the mobile communication device is nolonger communicatively coupled to the video terminal device; andtransmitting a cancel request to cause the wireless carrier system tocancel redirection of the one or more mobile messages to the videoterminal device.
 15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim14, wherein the video terminal device is a set top box.
 16. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving at the mobile communicationdevice a synchronization request from the video terminal device; andtransmitting synchronization information from the mobile communicationdevice to the video device terminal.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the video terminal devicedisplays the mobile messages on a display device coupled to the videoterminal device.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim14, wherein the operations further comprise: obtaining a responsemessage to one mobile message the mobile messages; and transmitting theresponse message to a device that initiated the one mobile message.